Iglesia ni Cristo - the true Church of Christ in these last days as biblical prophecies
attest

Members of the Church of Christ maintain that the
testimonies in the Bible attesting that the Church where they belong
is truly of God and that they are indeed the ones He has set apart
for Himself to serve and worship Him in these last days are firm and
strong. As historical accounts in the Bible show, it has been God's
policy since the beginning to set apart people whom He gives the
exclusive privilege of being His servants. Every time a chosen
generation of people would turn away from God, He chooses and sets
apart a new group of people in place of the old. Thus, when the
first-century Church of Christ fell into apostasy after the death of
the apostles, God set apart another group of people to become His
chosen servants. They are the members of the Church of Christ in
these last days, as biblical prophecies attest.

Through the prophet Isaiah, God made known His
will bring His people from the Far East, thus:

Fear not for I am with you; I will bring your
descendants from the east, And gather you from the west; I will say to
the north, 'Give them up!' And to the south, 'Do not keep them back!' Bring My sons from afar. And My daughters from the ends of the
earth." (Isa. 43:5-6, NKJV)

The prophecy speaks of the descendants whom God
would bring from the east and gather from the west. This. refers to
His election or setting apart of a people whom He calls His sons and
daughters.

But although the Bible mentions "east" many times
with different significations, yet we can be certain of which "east"
is being referred to as the place where the prophesied descendants
or sons and daughters of God would emerge. James Moffatt's
translation of Isaiah 43:5 renders the verse, thus;

The prophecy also revealed the time when God would
start calling or electing His children. God said:

Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your
descendants from the east, And gather you from the west; I will say
to the north, "Give them up!' And to the south, 'Do not keep them
back!' Bring My sons from afar. And My daughters from the ends of
the earth." (Isaiah 43:5-6, NKJV)

God's calling of His sons and daughters from the
Far East shall start at the ends of the earth. The "ends of the
earth" must be differentiated from the "end of the earth" which is
the Second Advent of Christ, thus:

Now as He sot on the Mount of Olives, the
disciples came to Him privately, saying, 'Tell us, when will these
things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the
age?" (Matt. 24:3. ibid.)

The "ends of the earth" is the time when the
end of the world is near, even at the doors as taught by our Lord
Jesus Christ, thus:

So you also, when you see all these things, know
that it is near—at the doors! (Matt. 24:33, ibid.)

These things that shall be seen indicating the
time when the day of Christ's Second Advent is near are what Christ
foretold in the Gospel written by Matthew, thus:

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See
that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass,
but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences,
and earthquakes in various places. (Matt. 24:6-7, ibid.)

One of the signs that the end is near is the
outbreak of a war that would be rumored or talked about. Christ's
prophecy was fulfilled when the First World War broke out on July 27,
1914—the same date when the Church of Christ was registered with the
Philippine government.

Another biblical prophecy reveals the one whom God
would use as His instrument in bringing His children to the Church
of Christ that would emerge in the Far East The book of the prophet
Isaiah states, thus:

Calling a bird of prey from the east. The man who
executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I
will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it
(Isa. 46:11, ibid)

This prophecy speaks of a messenger who is likened
to a bird of prey or to a ravenous bird whom God would call from the
Far East He is likened to a ravenous bird because God's sons and
daughters are being held back. They need to be taken or pulled out
as they are being held out by the north and the south, thus;

Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your
descendants from the east, And gather you from the west; I will say
to the north 'Give them up!' And to the south, 'Do not keep them
back!' Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the
earth.
(Isaiah 43:5-6, NKJV)

The north and the south mentioned in the prophecy,
which are being instructed to give up or to not keep back God's
children from the Far East, are not literal directions of the earth
as shown in a compass. Rather, they refer two large religions in
the world, from which the sons and daughters of God
would be taken so that they can be brought into the Church of Christ
through the instrumentality of the prophesied messenger. The two
religions representing "north" and "south" respectively are
Protestantism and Catholicism. This fact is attested to by a church
history book, thus:

As can be gleaned from the book cited,
Protestantism represents the "north" because Protestants dominated
the north, particularly northern Europe. The Catholic Church, on the
other hand, represents the "south" as it was in control of the
southern European states, even southern Germany. As a proof of the
fulfillment of the prophecy, majority ol those who become members of
the Church of Christ in these last days come from the Catholic
Church as well as from Protestant denominations.

God Himself stated in the prophecy that there is a
name by which the chosen servants of His from the Far East in
these last days would be called. He said:

Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have
created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.
(Isa.
43:7, NKJV)

As explicitly stated God's servants would be
called by His name—the name that He gave to Christ, thus:

I will remain in the world no longer, but they
are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect
them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may
be one as we are one. (John 17:11, NIV)

God's servants, His sons and daughters from the
Far East, therefore, shall be called by the name Church of Christ,
as attested to in the book of Acts of the Apostles, thus:

Hence the prophecy concerning the emergence of
the Church of Christ (Iglesia ni Cristo) in the Philippines, concurrent with the outbreak of the First World War or at the beginning
of the period known in the Bible as "ends of the earth" as
fulfilled.

"Although widely known as the INC founder, Manalo
is regarded by his flock as God's last messenger. Well-grounded in
biblical prophecies, Manalo himself believed so, too. For him and
his followers, the INC is the reemergence of the one and only true
Church founded Christ, which the first Apostles called the Church
of Christ or Iglesia ni Cristo. Total obedience to God's will is the
essence of the INC faith... The INC emerged in the darkening shadows
of the first world war: Manalo was a solitary voice preaching to the
poor, whence he came. But in no time at all, his Church grew by
leaps and bounds, eliciting respect and admiration from the leading
lights of other faiths. Indeed, no other religious faith in the
country has shown more unity, purposiveness and vitality than the lNC.
(Philippines Free Press, "Chosen People" By Edward
R. Kiunisala. Date
Published: January 9, 1993.)

This testimony came from nonmembers of the Church
of Christ. They even attest that Brother Felix Manalo first preached
about the Church of Christ that was established in the Philippines
at the outbreak of the First World War. They further attest that
the Church of Christ upholds "total obedience to God's will" and
that "no other religious faith in the country has shown more unity, purposiveness and vitality than the [Iglesia ni Cristo]."

"Even before the demise of the Messenger, the
Church of Christ had already been recognized as one of the biggest
and most vital religious denominations in the Philippines:

Today, one of the most prominent personalities in
the country is undoubtedly Felix Y. Manalo...

"In 1914, he succeeded in winning into the Church
of Christ a handful of faithful converts. Beginning with a small
group of followers of his new religion, he bravely continued his
relentless mission despite the innumerable odds and trying
difficulties along his way.

"... As the years went by, the fruits of his labor
showed in the speedy growth of the Iglesia ni Cristo.

Therefore the first part of the prophecy in Isaiah
43: 5 —"From the far east will I bring your offspring"—was fulfilled
through the instrumentality of God's Messenger in these last days,
Brother Felix Manalo. He is God's instrument for the re-emergence of
the Church of Christ in these last days and its spread throughout
the Philippines.

For almost 50 years, Brother Felix Manalo
successfully led the Church of Christ. He also labored to strengthen
the Church of Christ in the face of hindrances, trials and
persecutions. When he died on April 12,1963—a few days short of his
77th birthday—the Church was firmly established in the whole
Philippines,

Contrary to the expectations of its detractors,
the Church flourished and spread, grew in strength and continued to
reap success after success under the dynamic leadership of the
Messenger's successor as Executive Minister.

God's work of salvation was not meant to be
confined to Philippine shores. As to how far the work began by the
Messenger would go, the prophecy in the book of Isaiah also
foretold, thus:

So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the
west. And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes
in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard
against him. (Isa. 59:19, NKJV)

According to the Prophet Isaiah, when the glory of
God from the rising of the sun or the Far East is revealed, so shall
they fear the name of the Lord from the west . Citing again the book
of Isaiah, we can glean which west is being referred to, thus:

From the far east will I bring your offspring,
and from the far west I will gather you. (Isa. 43:5, Mofatt Translation)

As clearly stated in the prophecy, God would
gather His chosen people from the Far West. The World Almanac and
Book of Facts, 1976 shows whatg "Far East"
signifies, thus:

Hawaii and California are states of the United
States of America, which lie in the Far West. The prophecy that
there would be chosen people of God in these places was fulfilled,
as to who would be God's instrument in starting the gathering of
scattered members of the Church of Christ from the Far West, an
unsolicited testimony runs, thus:

As stated in this study, the Church's overseas
mission began when Brother Erano Manalo officiated at the inaugural
worship service of the Local Congregation of Honolulu, Hawaii in
1968, which was followed several weeks later by the establishment of the Local Congregation of San Francisco, California. Only
forty years after that momentous occasion, the Church has spread
throughout the United States and 89 other countries and territories
around the world.

The second part of the prophecy in Isaiah
43:5—"from the far west I will gather you"—was fulfilled through the
instrumentality of the Executive Minister of the Church, Brother Erano G. Manalo. He is God's instrument in establishing the first.
local congregations of the Church in the Far West and in the
Church's expansion in various parts of the world.

Certainly, what God declared in the prophecy has
all come to pass. The prophecy said, "From
the far east will I bring your your offspring"—this was fulfilled
when the Church of Christ re-emerged in the Philippines and
spread throughout the archipelago through the instrumentality of the
Messenger, Brother Felix Manalo. Likewise, it was prophesied that
"from; the far west I will gather you"—this, too was fulfilled
through the instrumentality of Brother Erano G. Manalo, who first
gathered the brethren in Hawaii, then in San Francisco, and from
thereon, the Church of Christ has expanded throughout the world.

The astounding fulfillment of the biblical
prophecy on the emergence of the Church of Christ in the Philippines
and its expansion to the west and through-out the world only goes to
prove that this is the handiwork of the Lord, thus:

That they may see and know, And consider and
understand together, That the hand of the LORD has done this, And
the Holy One of Israel has created it. (Isa.
41:20, NKJV)

Faithful members of the Church of Christ the world
over do realize, understand, and firmly believe that all the
triumphs and achievements of the Church are the handiwork of God.
They know fully well that they could not have accomplished those
things by themselves.

As God fulfilled His promise to His Messenger that
He would be with him and would uphold, help, and support him (Isa.
41:10-13), so had He and continues to do so with the present
Administration He placed in His Church

The realization and understanding that it is the
Almighty God who made all these and more possible have cultivated in
the Church of Christ members more trust, faith, confidence. love,
and hope in Him. No matter what they go through in this life, they
stand their ground and would never be shaken in their hope of God's
eternal promises.

The faithful always remember that the ancient
servants of God did experience hardship and persecution. It is their
conviction that if God's early servants were able to endure so can
they as God's people in this era, whatever trials they have to bear

They are willing to sacrifice and endure for the
sake of their divine calling because they can clearly see how the
prophecies of God have been fulfilled to this Church, such as the
prophecy written in Isaiah 43:5-6. They have no doubt whatsoever
that this Church is where the chosen people of God in these last
days belong. As members of this Church, they are the ones whom God
considers as His sons and daughters in these last days, the ones
whom He will bless and save come the day of Judgment.

___________________

Source: Excerpt from a
special report - 27 July 2008
Church of Christ (Iglesia ni Cristo)
94 years in the Philippines; 40 years of Overseas Mission